Who this is for
Learners who are fluent with chords in a key and Roman numerals. Already analysing songs with borrowed chords? Test out on Day 7.
Best done after: Chord Progressions, Minor Keys & Scales. It is advice, not a rule: every lesson has short "rusty on…?" boxes for anything you skipped.
Why learn this
Songs that stay strictly inside a key can sound plain. The chords that add surprise, drama or a lift usually come from outside the key: borrowed from the parallel minor, or dominants that point at another chord.
These chords follow clear rules. This program teaches the rules (what is borrowed from where, and what a secondary dominant is aiming at) so that chords like ♭VII and V7/vi are easy to spot and use.
What you will be able to do
- Modal interchange: borrowing from the parallel minor
- iv, ♭VII, ♭VI and ♭III in a major key
- Secondary dominants: V/V and V7/V
- V7/vi, V7/ii, V7/IV and V7/iii
- Spotting these chords by ear and on paper
- Finding a key even when chords leave it
The 7-day plan
- Borrowing from the minor. Recognise iv and ♭VII as chords borrowed from the parallel minor.
- ♭VI, ♭III and ♭VII in practice. Recognise the big borrowed major chords.
- Secondary dominants: V/V. Build V/V and V7/V in any key.
- V7/vi, V7/ii, V7/IV. Spot and build the other common secondary dominants.
- Spotting them. Tell inside-key chords from borrowed and secondary ones.
- Mixed practice. Combine everything: diatonic, borrowed and secondary chords.
- Test day. Prove you can read and build chords from outside the key.
How each session works
Every day follows the shape of a workout. It starts with a warm-up that reviews earlier days, then technique: a short, plain explanation with a small interactive tool to try it on. Then come the working sets, drills with instant feedback, and a finisher, a short test with a pass mark so you only build on things you can do. A cool-down recaps the day and previews the next.
Choose your split
The daily split is a session a day: done in a week. The easy split is a session every other day, with rest days between: two weeks, and a gentler pace. On your own pace there is no schedule. Nothing is ever locked, and you can change split at any time.
What comes next
Modulation: The 5-Day Program. See the whole training plan.
Frequently asked questions
What is a borrowed chord?
A chord taken from the parallel key (the minor with the same tonic). In C major, F minor (iv) and B♭ (♭VII) come from C minor.
What is a secondary dominant?
A dominant (or dominant 7th) chord that points at a chord other than I. V7/vi is the dominant 7th of the vi chord: E7 in C major, resolving to Am.
How do I read V/V?
It means "the V of V": the dominant of the dominant. In C, V is G, so V/V is D (or D7).
Why does ♭VII sound so rock?
It comes from the Mixolydian mode and the parallel minor. The move I – ♭VII – IV (C, B♭, F) is the backbone of countless rock songs.